Still Building America—Tiffany Orff’s path to welding

Not even a devastating loss could diminish Tiffany’s positive attitude and enthusiasm for welding.

I was introduced to Tiffany Orff through social media’s welding community. Tiffany’s house had burned down. She was physically untouched by the fire, but it did destroy all of her personal belongings, including her clothing, furniture, pictures, important documents, other belongings, and, sadly, her two young dogs. I held an Instagram auction of one of my sculptures to show her some support as she set out to finish up her welding degree at Arkansas Tech this fall.

About the loss of her house, Tiffany said, “I feel ‘at home’ every time I have my hood down, which is perfect, especially now!” She is an ambitious role model to all who know her. This post is dedicated to the memory of her pups, Charlie and Louie.

JW: Share with us what kind of work you do and what got you started in your trade.

TO: I am a full-time college student working toward my AAS, majoring in welding technology at Arkansas Tech University - Ozark. Attending school was a decision I made so that I could learn how to TIG weld for a shop I co-own, Custom Industries. Long story short, I was going through a divorce, and members of a custom car/truck club I was in recommended a shop to fix the suspension on my extreme static dropped Chevy Tahoe. I had to take a chance with this shop, because I didn’t particularly like the owner. Well, he ended up being very accommodating to my paranoid and pushy ways when it came to my vehicle, and we eventually began dating. I guess the way to my heart was through my vehicle.

I went from “girlfriend” to “hand me that wrench” to “shop girl” to co-owner within three years, and I never looked back. I’ve had my hand in every aspect of building a custom suspension—shaving panels, plumbing the air lines, wiring the valves and compressors, and finishing the metal. And I’ve loved every minute of it. School was my way to learn another skill, so I could branch out into custom interiors, control arms, and fuel cells. Little did I know that you would have to try all these different welding processes to finally learn how to TIG, and I’m actually glad. I was introduced to arc welding in the first week of my first semester and fell in love. Then came flux. I can’t get enough of any of the processes.

JW: Awesome. Who has influenced or inspired your life and work?

TO: I grew up in Long Beach, Calif., and was in the greater Los Angeles area for about 30 years until four years ago, so I was always around lowriders and hot rods. You either love them or don’t, and I became immersed in all things custom, from cruising the “Boli” to participating in car shows. I even joined a custom car/ truck club.

I was inspired by Chip Foose and Boyd Coddington builds on TV. Gene Winfield is the God of shaping metal and one of my heroes. I watched the beauties that Bobby at Sadistic Iron Werks built. He also was very helpful to me when I had questions on AccuAir products later on when I was working at Custom Industries. Also, Michael Brown of #weldermafia, who has to be the most selfless welding teacher I have ever come across.

Ultimately, it was James Wilson of Custom Industries who has had the greatest impact on my welding/fabricating career. If it wasn’t for me walking into his fab/custom suspension shop eight years ago, and the way he was able to figure anything out and make it seem effortless, who knows where I would be.

JW: So you’ve had all sorts of training?

TO: Yes, trial and error with my own vehicles from maintenance to customizing. Helping others in my former car club on their modifications. Shop girl for years at a fab shop and being part of every step of the builds. And now currently almost two years in on formal training in welding, initially for TIG, but I am so in love with stick right now; who knows where that will take me.

My unfinished bagged/body dropped Mazda B2200. I put every single piece of sheet metal back onto this truck, removed the hydraulics and replaced them with air ride, and eventually sold it when we moved out to Arkansas. I am currently building the same exact style truck. To be continued …

JW: What is the favorite part of your job?

TO: My favorite part of the job is the hands-on work. It’s gratifying to get in and ultimately make something from raw metal. I also loved making someone’s custom vehicle build come to fruition. It was always so exhilarating to show them the final reveal!

JW: And how about a favorite project that you worked on?

TO: A favorite project was getting to install the new AirRide system for Gene Winfield’s '61 Cadillac, Maybellene. I sat in the trunk to wire up the AccuAir SwitchSpeed. It was a top-secret project, and I came to work in awe every day. It was amazing! He has been one of my inspirations forever. Such a master of all crafts.

JW: What is the most challenging part of your job?

TO: To find the time to actually work on my own custom truck build. Not enough hours in the day.

JW: What's your goal for your career?

TO: I have held a few private MIG classes, Mommy and Me welding classes, plus intro to basics with setting up your welding machine. I enjoy the teaching, so I want to continue in that direction and hopefully inspire more women and children to get started. Who knows what kind of passion I could ignite?

JW: What advice would you give your peers if they wanted to find a similar path? Not even just specifically doing exactly what you do, but in general?

TO: In general, don’t be afraid to just get started. That path of the unknown may be the beginning to your future. Also, if you go to school to get a formal education, make sure you get the most out of it. Utilize your teacher’s knowledge; ask questions and get demonstrations. Use the program’s technology and consumables. Plus, don’t be afraid to break the normal curriculum if you want to learn something different or want to try brazing or aluminum welding or whatever. Be your own advocate and stick to your guns.

All images courtesy of Tiffany Orff.

Slide Show | 5 Images